Let’s Colour Walls of Connection on Plaza República, Ecuador

The mural made Plaza República a more colorful and welcoming place, restoring its status as a cultural site.

Bringing Plaza República back to life

Plaza República is a gateway to the old city of Quito, making it the cultural and historical hub of the city. It has been a site attracting the youth of Quito, although the lack of maintenance has turned it into a derelict area and the history of the place has been neglected and buried under darkness and rubbish. AkzoNobel and MasterPeace Quito wanted to restore the importance of this cultural place by turning it into the heart of the city again. The mural is a part of the renovation plan of the municipality to change the unwelcoming outlook of the area. The club believes that through street art more young people will be attracted to the area and turn it into artistic and cultural hub.

Mix of experience and youth

The design was made by Carlos Moreno, who wanted to emphasize the cultural and historical heritage of Ecuador and this is reflected in the mural. He also wanted to combat the gloomy outlook of the square with a colorful mural.

Metropolitan Institute of Design participated on designing the mural. The club wanted to encourage the young artists of the city and to inspire them to create and commit to social activities through Let’s Colour Walls of Connection. The students participated in a design contest and the best one organized a contest and the best students were invited to paint alongside Carlos Moreno.

New hub for artists

AkzoNobel and MasterPeace volunteers, and many students from the Metropolitan Institute participated in the event coloring the wall. The Office for Human Mobility of the Provincial Council of Pichinchi and Secretary of Social Inclusion also attended the event.

The mural has made Plaza República great again. It has also proved that it can be turned into a safe space for artists to create and display their talents and ideas, following the Habitat III conference which gave a great boost to the city. Now young people have resumed their gatherings in the square making it lively and bustling again.

Personal perspective

“I feel very proud to be part of AkzoNobel and took part in the Habitat III project in Quito in 2016. I joined Walls of Connection because I think it is very interesting to give life and color to the walls of my city.
It was great to interact with true artists and I was very thankful to be able to help them. If a new opportunity shows up, I recommend you to do it! It is an experience beyond work that is worth living.”

Amanda Rivadeneira, AkzoNobel employee, Quito